Title
Rent to Own/Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Arrangements Discussion
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Discuss policy and programmatic options related to tenant opportunity to purchase and rent to own. Provide direction to staff on options to explore further.
Report
Issue:
Whether to Discuss policy and programmatic options related to tenant opportunity to purchase and rent to own. Provide direction to staff on options to explore further.
Staff Contact:
Christa Lenssen, Senior Housing Program Specialist, Community Planning & Economic Development, 360.570.3762
Presenter(s):
Christa Lenssen, Senior Housing Program Specialist, Community Planning & Economic Development, 360.570.3762
Background and Analysis:
Staff began exploring tenant opportunity-to-purchase and rent-to-own approaches to homeownership in 2023, following an Affordable Homeownership Study and direction from City Council and the Land Use and Environment Committee.
A rent-to-own, or lease-to-own, arrangement involves a landlord and tenant agreeing to terms under which the tenant will eventually purchase the property. In Olympia, this would likely apply to single-family stick-built homes and manufactured homes, with each transaction benefiting one household. While this approach increases access to homeownership and wealth-building, these sales would not include additional affordability standards or long-term protections for future households.
Tenant opportunity-to-purchase policies provide a structured process for tenants to be notified of an impending sale and given the chance to purchase the property, often with a right of first refusal to match other offers. These policies can also involve nonprofit affordable housing organizations, local government, or public housing authorities (sometimes called community opportunity-to-purchase or COPA). They can apply to various housing types, including multifamily residences, pot...
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